Author Archives: Russ

Completing the Circle

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Russ

Last year I reported on Circle Industries, the Alpharetta, Georgia based international construction company. The father and son owners conspired with their bookkeeper to deduct personal expenses on their business return, including things like visits to Atlanta’s Gold Club, an … Continue reading →

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Federal Tax Fraud: The Users Guide, Part 2

Posted on June 19, 2008 by Russ

As a published author I know that finding the right title for a book can be a difficult task. My writing partner and I struggled with the title for our first book while for our second book we chose the … Continue reading →

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Ask Your Attorney and Accountant and Then Act

Posted on June 18, 2008 by Russ

Joe Kristan has an excellent post this morning on why your first should talk to your business attorney and accountant and then act on a change to your business entity. If you act first you may very well end up … Continue reading →

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Prison Counselor Will See the Other Side of the Fence

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Russ

If you’re in prison and need some extra money, what should you do? How about defrauding the IRS—after all, you’re in prison, and all the government can do is keep you there. Of course, such a scheme needs help from … Continue reading →

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Iowa Flooding

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Russ

The floods in Iowa have hit the tax blogging community. Joe Kristan, the blogger at Roth Tax Updates, and all of downtown Des Moines were evacuated Friday afternoon because of the floods. The American Red Cross is one good place … Continue reading →

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The Thirteenth Time Wasn’t the Charm

Posted on June 11, 2008 by Russ

Sometimes when you deal with the government you get the runaround. Agency “A” will tell you need to talk with Agency “B” while Agency “B” says only Agency “A” can handle the problem. It’s enough to give you gray hair. … Continue reading →

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Now That’s a Bozo Tax Preparer

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Russ

I’ve read about all sorts of Bozo tax preparers, but Sunita Buddhu is by far one of the worst I’ve read about. Luckily for you and I, her days of preparing tax returns have ended. Ms. Buddhu and her father, … Continue reading →

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Yet Another Payroll Service In Trouble

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Russ

What happens if you use a payroll service and they don’t forward the deposits to the IRS and your state tax department? The payroll company will be in trouble, but the employer is still liable for the deposits. That’s why … Continue reading →

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What Hath Proposition 13 Wrought?

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Russ

Proposition 13, the initiative that limited property tax increases, is blamed by liberals as one of the root causes of California’s current budget problems. It’s not. The San Diego Union ran an editorial detailing what has happened to property tax … Continue reading →

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A New York Doctor/Gambler Hits Three Lemons

Posted on June 7, 2008 by Russ

The TaxProf Blog alerted me to an interesting Tax Court case decided earlier this week. Once again the Court looked at whether or not an individual can be a professional gambler when that individual specializes in video poker. In video … Continue reading →

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